LONDON: The global human rights watchdog-Amnesty International-has asked US authorities to clarify aspects of the operations in Abbotabad in which al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed on Sunday.
The organisation also sought similar information from the Pakistani authorities.
The AI specifically requested information on the status and whereabouts of those who were with bin Laden and the circumstances of his killing.
Amnesty International Senior Director Claudio Cordone said in a statement that according to reports attributed to Pakistani officials, 18 people were in bin Laden's compound at the time of the US attack.
US officials have said that five people were killed and two women were injured - one of whom was identified as bin Laden's wife - and that at the end of the operation the injured women were left at the compound along with at least six children.
He said: "We are seeking information from the US and Pakistani authorities about how many people were in the compound at the time of the operation and what happened to them.
"Given that bin Laden was not armed, it is not clear how he resisted arrest and whether an attempt was made to capture him rather than kill him."
CIA Director Leon Panetta had stated that US forces had full authority to kill bin Laden but that they were to capture him if he had surrendered. The White House has said that bin Laden was unarmed but resisted capture.
Cordone said in those circumstances the organisation believes that US forces should have attempted to capture Osama bin Laden alive in order to bring him to trial if he was unarmed and posing no immediate threat.
"Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for acts of terrorism amounting to crimes against humanity and has inspired others to commit similar acts. Perpetrators of such acts must be brought to justice in a manner consistent with international law," Cordone asserted.
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